Delhi, 8th November 2022: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the provision of a 10 per cent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in admissions and government jobs in a historic decision. The validity of the 103rd Constitutional Amendment was agreed upon with a majority of three votes against two. The poor belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes will not come under the purview of the EWS reservation. The SC said it is not discriminatory and does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution.

Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice JB Pardiwala upheld the law, while Chief Justice Lalit, along with Justice S Ravindra Bhat, took a stand against it. During this, the Chief Justice was conducting the proceedings of the court on the last day of his term. Lalit said that the exclusion of the poor belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes from the purview of the amendment shows discrimination which is constitutionally prohibited.

Justice Bhat wrote his own and the CJI’s decision himself. Reading this, he said, “He does not agree with the view of the majority in this matter. For the first time in seven decades of the republic, this court has explicitly approved exclusionary and discriminatory. Our constitution does not speak the language of the boycott. I believe that this amendment weakens the fabric of social justice.”

Expressing his minority view, Justice Bhat disagreed with the constitutional amendment related to the EWS reservation. He termed the 103rd Amendment Act as unconstitutional and invalid on the ground that it violated the basic structure of the Constitution. Chief Justice Lalit concurred with Justice Bhat’s view.

Judges read out four separate decisions for more than 35 minutes in the courtroom. Justice Maheshwari, while reading out his decision, said that the 103rd Amendment cannot be said to be violative of the basic structure of the Constitution. He said that reservation is a way to do positive work so that the goal of an egalitarian society can be progressed in an all-inclusive manner. It is a means of the inclusion of any disadvantaged class or group.

Justice Trivedi and Justice Pardiwala echoed their voices saying that reservation in admissions and jobs only on economic grounds does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution. He said that the 103rd Constitutional Amendment has to be seen as a positive step taken by the Parliament for the welfare of EWS. He also took a similar stand on the contention that the 50 per cent cap on the total reservation cannot be violated under the verdict in the Mandal case. He said that its alleged violation does not affect the basic structure of the Constitution.

However, Justices Trivedi and Pardiwala said there is a need to fix a time limit for such reservations, and they cannot continue all the time. Both the judges said that the purpose of reservation is to ensure social justice, but it should not continue indefinitely so that it does not become a vested interest.